Crossing the finishing line of Sir Chris Hoy’s Velodrome with the very last breath he had, somehow the Aberdonian found enough of a rush to stay upright long enough to make the most dramatic gold medal celebration of the Games so far.

Both hands outstretched, index fingers pointing towards the 4500 crowd whose roar had blown him all the way down that last stretch when it seemed his burning legs would take him no further.

It was a wonderful scene to witness but an adrenalin rush so powerful can never be anything but short lived.

By the time Fachie’s pilot rider Craig MacLean had steered them around one lap of honour, the exhaustion of the experience hit the Commonwealth 1000m time trial tandem champion like a brick wall.

He had to be physically helped off the back of their bike by Scotland’s delighted backroom team and there he lay on the golden boards of that timber track, prostrate on all fours. Utterly spent.

The pint-sized star and his beefy Highland co-rider had given more than they’ve ever given before on the biggest stages of sport – from MacLean’s Olympic team sprint silver in the regular Olympics of 2000 to the 2012 Paralympics where both performed sublimely, albeit as rivals.

But more of their unusual background later. For now it’s about this moment in Glasgow, where both men delivered one of the most thrilling finishes we’ll see in this 11-day festival of sport, sweat and tears.

The pain Fachie was feeling as he finally regained his feet, the discomfort it must have given to step up on to the top tier of the podium to receive his medal, it’s all temporary. But the memories will live with him forever.

Fachie, choking back tears of joy, said: “That ride was possibly the most painful experience of both our lives, so we feel we deserved the medal.

“It was a wee bit emotional. We’ve both stood at the top of the podium many a time but to do it for Scotland in Scotland, it’s something most athletes can only dream of. It’s a moment we’ll never forget.

“The crowd at the Paralympics was slightly bigger – but this lot made just as much noise.

“If they hadn’t been cheering us on like that I’m not sure we would have made it. We were hurting badly by the end but the crowd kept us going.

“In terms of the whole year, winning two world championship titles and now winning here, it’s even an better year than 2012 – which was pretty phenomenal.

“Hopefully we can top this off with something in the sprint tomorrow.”

To rate this success an even bigger buzz than claiming gold in the same event at the Paralympics – plus a silver in the sprint they’ll contest again today – is high praise indeed.

But nowhere has the collective will for him to succeed been stronger and, as a result, his desire has never been stronger too. Fachie added: “Most of the expectation came from what we put on ourselves. The nice thing about being an athlete is you don’t really know what’s going on outside.

“In the opening ceremony I heard my name mentioned once when I was watching on TV. Apart from that I’ve not heard much.

“I expected to win for myself. That’s enough pressure.”

MacLean has been in plenty of similar situations too as a former team-mate of Hoy’s before reinventing himself as a tandem pilot after missing out on selection to the mainstream squad for London 2012.

Neil Fachie was spent after sealing victory.

It was around that time when the Grantown on Spey man met Fachie by chance when the younger man turned up at Team GB’s Manchester base for a trial.

A former track athlete, Fachie needed to find a new direction after failing to find the podium in the 100m and 200m races he ran at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.

And by sheer chance, or perhaps fate, he bumped into MacLean that day who invited him to jump on the back of his tandem. Fachie added: “At first I didn’t tell them I can’t see very well so I went round on a solo bike and made sure I stayed away from everyone.

“But when Craig, who was warming up for a GB session, saw I had a Paralympic Games bag we got chatting and it turned out he needed someone to ride on the back of a tandem.

“Tandem does require a lot of faith in your partner, particularly if you’re at the back. I’m trusting Craig to get me around the track without dying – so far, so good!”

Such trust in each other was clearly evident yesterday as this little-and-large pairing moved in perfect symphony around this pulsating oval arena.

Setting off as the last of five pairs, they had a tough benchmark of 1:02.096 set by Australia’s Kieran Modra and Jason Niblett.

Tough but nor insurmountable, as Fachie had proved at the World Championships in April when he and previous pilot Pete Mitchell broke his own world record with the first ever sub-minute run.

Yesterday’s time of 1:02.096 was outside that personal best – but it was good enough to set the Commonwealth record.

A sweet moment that could yet get sweeter when the pair get back in the saddle this morning.

But as far as MacLean is concerned his pint-sized team-mate’s status as a legend of his sport is already confirmed.

MacLean added: “From the numbers he puts out and the power he puts in, Neil is up there with any of the guys I’ve worked with over the years.

“If it wasn’t for Neil’s visual impairment, he would be an elite athlete in his own right.

“I didn’t want to let Neil down today. I had to be in the best shape I could be. When we got our breath back, I don’t know what the first thing we said was. It probably wasn’t coherent – just a groan!

“There is always a rush getting on the podium. You have no chance to catch your breath.”

A fact that the crowd who witnessed this great moment can relate to themselves.